So after a month long stay in San Diego, I visited my favorite tea shop in the area and stocked myself with several of their teas. After going through the eye opening experience that was my last matcha, I decided to give this one a try. I wasn’t really expecting much, as the description is very clear that this is an everyday grade, but I still enjoyed this one.

>Matcha Appearance/Aroma
Aroma is very faint, almost non-existent, unless you smell the can up close. The powder is lightly coarse with a bright lime green color.

>Preparation
Usucha style (thin).

I used 4 oz of water, 2 scoops, 180F water and thoroughly whisked.

While the website description asks for 2 scoops per 2 oz of water, the label in the can says 1 scoop per 2 oz of water, so I decided to follow the directions in the can. I’ll post an update using the guidelines from the website.

>Taste and Color
Foam is bright lime green, liquid a deep dark green.
Taste-wise, the tea was very light with very subtle grassy/vegetal notes and not a hint of bitterness.

>Overall
Pretty much the description by Halcyon is spot on. While not a mind blowing experience, it’s definitely better than the usual offerings at the Japanese markets. This is a matcha that tastes good on its own and I bet it’ll make better lattes than the store bought ones.

*NOTE: Most of the teas I recently got from Halcyon(including this one) have been de-listed from their website. I don’t know if they are temporarily out of stock of them or are giving way for new tea.